1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an original reading apparatus capable of controlling the order of pages of images in the originals to be read.
2. Related Background Art
Certain image forming apparatus such as the copying machine are equipped with a discharged sheet processing apparatus, such as sorter, for sorting, aligning and stapling the discharged image forming sheets, and such discharged sheet processing apparatus has a book binding function as one of its functions.
Such book binding function is, as shown in FIG. 18, to form the images of first and last pages on the back side of a recording sheet, to form the image of the second page and the image of the next-to-last page on the front side of the same recording sheet, to also form the images of other pages in a similar manner on both sides of the recording sheets, then, after the discharge of the recording sheets bearing images, to staple the center of the sheets in the superposed state and to fold the sheets in the center to obtain a book.
Also there is conducted page layout control in the image formation, for realizing such book binding function. In such page layout control, each recording sheet and the images formed on both sides thereof are so correlated that the images are positioned on the respectively required pages when the sheets are bound as the book.
Also in case of returning the originals, which are bound as a book with page layout by the above-explained book binding function, into the sheets divided into the original pages, there is employed a method of copying of each page of such bound originals or a method of cutting the bound originals in the center. However the former method is cumbersome and inefficient as the bound originals have to be placed on the original table for the copying of the image of each page. Also in the latter method, as the originals are cut apart, it is difficult to again bind such originals.
Also in case of facsimile transmission of such bound originals, there is employed a method of cutting the bound originals in the center and reading thus cut originals in the order of pages, or a method of copying the respective pages of the bound originals and reading thus copied originals. However, in the former method, it is difficult to bind the cut originals again, and, in the latter method, the copying operation is cumbersome and inefficient, and the copying sheets are wasted.